Photo by Sedano's Pair this delicious meat with rice and beans, or fried plantains.
Ropa vieja is a traditional Cuban dish – its name literally translates to "old clothes” in Spanish because it’s a messy but delicious and colorful combination of ingredients: meat, peppers and onions, all thrown together like a pile of old clothes!
Find everything you need to make an authentic ropa vieja at Sedano's.
Ingredients
- Beef
- 2 lbs. beef flank steak or skirt steak, trimmed
- 6 cups broths
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp fresh cilantro chopped
- salt to taste
- Ropa vieja
- ½ cup vegetable oil for frying
- 1 small onion sliced
- 1 red bell pepper seeded and sliced into strips
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and sliced into strips
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
- 2 cloves garlic mashed
- 1/2 3 oz. can tomato paste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
Directions
Beef
- Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Sear the meat on all sides, for approximately 4 minutes on each side. Reserve.
- In a large skillet or pot place the meat, tomato sauce, 6 cups of beef broth, vegetable oil, cloves, garlic, cumin, fresh cilantro, bay leaves, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook in a simmer for 2 hours, until the beef is tender.
- Remove meat from heat, reserve broth. Once meat has cooled down, shred and reserve.
Roja vieja
- Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, red and green bell pepper and salt. Sauté until the onion is translucent.
- Add the garlic and salt, and continue to cook for about 2 additional minutes. Add the tomato paste, olive oil and vinegar, 1 cup reserved broth, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.
- Stir in the shredded beef, reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes.
- Adjust seasonings to taste. Serve with white rice and fried plantains.
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